Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Jimmy Carter -Part II?

"A man accused of shooting a snorkeler in the head has told investigators that he mistook the swimmer for a water-dwelling rodent.

According to a sheriff's spokesman, William Roderick told detectives he saw what he thought was a nutria swimming in the Smith River, so he grabbed a rifle and shot at it from a deck overlooking the water.

After realizing that it was not a nutria, Roderick helped pulled the victim from the water. Roderick was arraigned Thursday on assault and other charges.

The snorkeler is in serious condition at a hospital in Portland." (source)

When I read this I couldn't help but reminisce about Jimmy Carter's April 20, 1979 brush with the killer rabbit that some have later claimed was a nutria... and of course I’ll use any opportunity to rehash that story:

"It was hissing menacingly, its teeth flashing and nostrils flared"... The President did what he could to protect himself. Initially it was reported that he had hit the rabbit with his paddle. Realizing this would not play well with the Rabbit Lovers Guild, Carter later clarified that he had merely splashed water at the rabbit, which then swam off toward shore. A White House photographer, ever alert to history's pivotal moments, snapped a picture of the encounter for posterity." (source)

Why does that story always cheer me up...? The Hissing bunny story, not the first story --that's terrible, and how do you mistake a snorkeler for a giant rat? And why are you shooting things in the river?